Which is interesting for a few reasons. First, because it means one of the loudest voices in the climate debate has been actively engaged in advocacy for 18 months with only the barest minimum of disclosure about its spending. Not that tax returns provide a huge amount of telling details, but ACCCE's tax return (if one had been filed) would reveal its annual budget- which is more than just federal lobbying, since it also runs lots of ads, deploys paid field staff and so forth. And of course, singing lumps of coal and forged letters don't come cheap!

ACCCE's tax return would (will?) list the members of the board of directors of ACCCE, providing some additional clarity about exactly what the organization stands for and who pulls the strings.

And that brings us to our point: Looking at the ACCCE board, and its relationships with the US Chamber board, and you start to get a pretty good idea of where both organizations are coming from. And whose interests are being protected.

Try and follow along as we walk you through the story of the Amazing Hidden, Interconnected and Surprising Truths of ACCCE's true leadership...

Until now, the closest one could get to seeing behind the scenes at ACCCE is to look at the organization's membership page, which lists 41 members. But we have now uncovered a list of the board of directors for ACCCE's predecessor, filed with the Texas Secretary of State, where the organization is registered. This list was filed in February 2007. In February 2008, CEED changed its name to ACCCE, but didn't attach a new list of directors. So until ACCCE informs us otherwise - or files their tax return - the 2007 list of board members is the only public document listing the ACCCE board. So we're gonna work off that.

What's interesting about this 2007 list is:

We know at least some companies have left ACCCE over its climate position, including Alcoa, Alstom and Duke (the latter left, but wasn't a board member.) So while Alcoa and Alstom are on the 2007 list, we know those companies have split the scene.

But, there are still twenty-five individuals on the 2007 board list that are not listed on ACCCE's membership page, nor are the companies with which they are affiliated. Are these folks no longer on the ACCCE board? If so, why did they leave? If not, why aren't they listed on ACCCE's web page? Enquiring minds want to know ...

The co-ops have a lot of weight on the ACCCE board, with 13 individuals representing coop interests. This includes former Congressman Glenn English, the head of the National Rural Electric Cooperative (NRECA) and twelve other individuals that are affiliated with electric coops that are members of NRECA. Six of these individuals, including Mr. English, are not listed by ACCCE as members.

Coal transporters and equipment providers are also well-represented, with 11 current or former execs of such companies on the board list. Five of those are not listed on ACCCE's membership page. And we're talking CEOs, not small fry: ACCCE's list includes the President and CEO of the American Association of Railroads, whose tax return for 2007 year reported its work to "Defeat legislation or regulation imposing onerous restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions and fossil fuel use." Plus, ACCCE has the current Chairmen of three of the nation's four largest railroads: BNSF, Norfolk-Southern and CSX; and not to leave out the fourth they've got the immediate past Chairman of Union Pacific.

Coal mining/extraction companies are, not surprisingly, well-represented on the board list, with 16 current or former coal company officials appearing there. Of those, seven are not listed by ACCCE as members, including Don Blankenship of Massey Energy and the CEO of Foundation Coal. One of those seven is the former head of the National Mining Association, but he left and went to the Frozen Foods Association after 2007, so perhaps he is no longer on the ACCCE board. But what about the coalies that are listed as board members but don't show up on ACCCE's website?

Also, here again ACCCE boasts CEO-level power: there are 9 current coal company chiefs among the board, including the nation's biggest coal companies: Peabody, Arch and Consol.

The ACCCE board also includes two members of the board of directors of the American Council on Capital Formation (ACCF), the Koch-industries-funded front group that teamed up with the National Association of Manufacturers to exaggerate the costs of dealing with climate change. One is Glenn English, CEO of NRECA; the other is Thomas Kuhn, the CEO of the Edison Electric Institute.

There are many connections between the ACCCE and the Chamber board. This includes (careful, some of these overlap):

Six individuals/companies that served on both boards this year (Coal giants Peabody, Massey and Consol; Rail giants BNSF and Norfolk Southern; and Caterpillar). Consol left the Chamber board recently (no, not because of the Chamber's climate stance.)

Two individuals on the board list are also former executives with Southern Company and Caterpillar, both of which of course have seats on the US Chamber board.

Four individuals that are current or former members of the Board of Directors of the US Chamber of Commerce.

Dwight Evans (formerly with Southern Company) who served on the US Chamber Board and is the immediate past Chair of the Chamber's Environment Committee.

Scott Miller, Associate General Manager of City Public Utilities in Springfield, MO, is on the US Chamber Board.

Richard Davidson, the former Chairman and CEO of Union Pacific, served as the Chairman of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. This one works in reverse too, since Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue has been a board member of Union Pacific since 1998, starting just one year after Davidson became UP's Chairman and CEO. Aww, they played trains together!

There's more, but my wife has asked me to stop typing so she can go to sleep. And, I think this is enough to chew on for a while. Why are so many ACCCE board members left off its membership page? Who knew that there were so many connections between ACCCE and the US Chamber?

Here's the list, minus the ACCCE members that left due to its climate position, and one fellow who passed away.